Britain announces sweeping social media ban for under-16s

World Keir Starmersocial mediauk Britain announces sweeping social media ban for under-16s Britain's Pm Keir Starmer Holds A Press Conference On Social Media Ban For Teenagers Relevant News One in six over-60s faces abuse globally, observatory warns 15 June 2026 Rescued barn owl found nesting with four chicks near Mammari 15 June 2026 Britain announces sweeping social media ban for under-16s 15 June 2026 Newsroom 15 June 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday he would ban social media sites for under-16s and impose restrictions on gaming and livestreaming platforms, in some of the world’s most far-reaching online restrictions to date. The sweeping changes will reflect Britain’s values, helping to protect children online while pushing back against the power of big technology companies, Starmer told a press conference. “It is clear to me a full ban is the right choice,” he said. “This will change the conversations that parents have and the expectations of children over time. It will make a huge difference, it will make our children safer, it will make our children happier, it will give them more time, more security, more freedom to grow up, more opportunity”. As well as a ban on sites such as TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram, he said he would take action against gaming and livestreaming services which allow children to talk to strangers. “Is there a situation in the offline world where you would just let your child pair up with a stranger, an adult that you don’t know anything about? No, so we’re taking action on that,” Starmer said. BAN IN PLACE BY NEXT SPRING? The government already has the powers to take the first steps in any ban, he said, with regulation to follow by the end of the year and a prohibition in place around next spring. Britain has increasingly toughened its approach to tech companies in recent years, urging or forcing them to impose age verification, adapt their algorithms and, most recently, prevent children from circulating nude images taken on mobile phones. But with a growing awareness of the mental health risks posed by children spending too much time online, Starmer has decided to go further after speaking to parents and considering evidence from Australia, which brought in a ban for under-16s last year. Starmer, who is likely to face a leadership challenge in the coming weeks, said people rightly expected action. Australia was the first country to ban social media for children under 16, blocking them last December from platforms including TikTok, Alphabet’s GOOGL.O YouTube and Meta’s META.O Instagram and Facebook. Since then a raft of countries have said they are looking to regulate access to social media amid mounting concerns over the impact on children’s health and safety. EXTENSIVE CONSULTATIONS Britain has consulted teachers, parents and young people on new restrictions, including a possible ban for under-16s, as well as curfews, app time limits and curbs on what the government has described as addictive design features. It received more than 116,000 responses from parents, industry and young people. More than 83% of parents who responded said risks from social media outweighed benefits, while 90% backed a minimum age of 16 to access social media platforms. While many parents and politicians back a ban, some psychologists and researchers have said there is no proof that it would work, and a group of school children in London told Reuters they had a conflicted relationship with the technology. (Reuters) Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News One in six over-60s faces abuse globally, observatory warns Rescued barn owl found nesting with four chicks near Mammari Driver injured in Limassol road rage assault, suspect at large Cyprus banks shut 370 branches and cut 4,634 jobs in a decade, ECB data shows Paphos-Limassol motorway tunnel closed for works daily until June 19 Nine killed, historic monastery on fire as Ukraine faces major Russian attacks TEPAK plans €104m second campus on old Limassol Hospital site Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.